READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Related stories

When sports marketing professor John Lord, Ph.D., invites a Trenton Thunder executive to speak to his St. Joseph's University students about selling minor league baseball, the discussion is less about the product on the field than the other things that keep fans coming back to the ballpark.

Like the importance of clean restrooms.

"That is one of the things that moms look at," Lord said, "and moms certainly have a major impact on what the family is going to do for entertainment."

With the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders primed to reboot professional baseball in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Thursday at PNC Field, president and general manager Rob Crain said he and his staff are ready to demonstrate to the community that the past is the past.

The sport is back - with a new team name, under new ownership and management, in an all-but-new ballpark and committed to what Crain calls a new attitude that will make PNC Field a family entertainment destination first and a sports venue second.

And, yes, that means meeting the expectations of moms, he said. When mothers are deciding what their families are going to do the next night or the upcoming weekend, the RailRiders want to be discussed early, and positively, in the conversation.

"This area has what I call a 'prove it' mentality. We have been talking a lot about what we are doing, all the changes we are making, and the whole area had been very excited about it," Crain said. "The 'prove it' mentality is, 'OK, I understand what you're saying. Now show me.'

"We are anxious to show them."

The RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, are returning to PNC Field after playing the entire 2012 season

on the road while the Moosic ballpark underwent a $43.3 million makeover that practically rebuilt the venue from the ground up.

That will be the most obvious change people arriving for Thursday night's season opener will notice.

Gone is the hulking concrete upper deck that dominated the old stadium. In its place, fans will find a ballpark with a lower, sleeker, more intimate profile and an open concourse that wraps 360 degrees around the playing field. The field itself is one of the few things that did not change.

There are other features that didn't exist before, from a second-level club area to the outfield Tiki bar to the expansive children's play area.

International League president Randy Mobley, who will be at PNC Field for the opener, predicts there will be a "significant 'wow' factor" associated with the new ballpark, in part because people remember what was there and what wasn't there before.

"They have something to compare this new facility to, and some may even have been fond of the old ballpark," he said. "I think many of them will be blown away by what's happened here. It's going to be very special from the facility standpoint."

But Mobley said perspective can be a double-edged sword.

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of negativity associated with the stadium and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise, Mobley said. It's no secret, he said, that many fans were turned off by the operation and responded by staying home.

In 2007, the first year of the club's affiliation with the New York Yankees, average attendance was a franchise record 8,691 per game. By 2011, that had slipped to 4,596, second to last in the International League.

Against that backdrop, one of the challenges for Crain and his staff is convincing the public the franchise truly values its fans, Mobley said. He believes that process is already well under way.

"Over the last several months, there have been clear indications of a change in the way this operation intends to go forward. â¦ The people who bring that old perspective have, I think, the chance to be wowed by the way they are treated when they come out to the ballpark."

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien, who publicly called on SWB Yankees LLC's management a year ago to take concrete steps to restore public trust and confidence in the franchise, said there has been a "180-degree shift in thinking" since Crain came on board in July.

He cited as an example the aggressive promotions schedule announced by the RailRiders, which will include 18 giveaway days. From the 2007 through last season, the franchise had 11 giveaways total.

"The organization has done an excellent job of identifying the areas where there were weaknesses and improving on those areas from a management standpoint," the commissioner said.

Crain acknowledged the franchise will receive a bump this season simply because of the excitement over baseball's return and curiosity about the rebuilt ballpark.

The greater challenge will be sustaining interest over time, which is why it is critical the RailRiders demonstrate to the public this year that baseball at PNC Field is not just about batting, throwing and fielding.

"The people who are interested in the Yankees' next great shortstop or second baseman or relief pitcher, who are very enthralled with the game - they are going to come out because of all the great Yankee talent that is going to be here," Crain said.

Who the RailRiders need to reach are families looking for good entertainment at an affordable price, he said.

"No matter what, families and people in general are always looking for affordable entertainment options and we can provide that," Crain said. "We can provide it, and we are going to be great at it."

Dr. Lord, the St. Joseph's professor, said family-oriented entertainment at a reasonable cost is what drives the popularity of minor league baseball - not the sport itself.

"As long as the franchise owners make sure the experience is really great for the fans - the bathrooms are clean; there is fun stuff going on; the concessions are varied and affordable; there are lots and lots of special evenings - then they are going to do all right," Lord said.

"If families have a good experience there, they are going to go more than every once in a while."

O'Brien said while there is a built-in base of support in Northeastern Pennsylvania for minor league baseball, there are not enough diehard fans to sustain a facility like PNC Field over time.

"We need the families to come to the ballpark," he said. "We hope people, even those who may not necessarily like baseball, come out and go to a game. I think they are going to be pleasantly surprised that this is much less about baseball and much more about family entertainment.

"If people give it a chance, they are going to enjoy it."

dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.